High Representative Mogherini meets with the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, Kang Kyung-wha following latest UNSC Resolution on DPRK

Today, the High Representative of the European Union/Vice-President Federica Mogherini met in Manila Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, Kang Kyung-wha.

The HR/VP and the Foreign Minister discussed at length the situation in the Korean Peninsula. The High Representative/Vice-President debriefed the Foreign Minister on the discussions of EU foreign ministers at the July Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

She stressed that the European Union follows a double track approach. On the one hand, the pursuit of pressure on the DPRK to comply with its international obligations as regards its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, including through UN and EU autonomous sanctions. In this respect, the HR/VP considered the unanimous adoption on 5 August by the UN Security Council of Resolution 2371 (2017) an important step in further increasing international pressure.

Secondly, the EU considers credible and meaningful dialogue with the DPRK as essential to bringing about lasting peace and denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula through peaceful means. The High Representative reiterated that the European Union supports the leading role and call of the Republic of Korea in this process. HR/VP Mogherini and Foreign Minister Kang agreed to remain closely in touch going forward.

The High Representative and the Foreign Minister also reviewed the excellent state of bilateral relations, including increased cooperation in security matters, and the very positive results stemming from the bilateral Free Trade Agreement.

The meeting with Foreign Minister Kang was the first of a series of bilateral meetings focused on the Korean nuclear issue which the HR/VP will hold during her stay in Manila on 6, 7 and 8 August in the margins of the ASEAN related meetings. The HR/VP will discuss the situation in the Korean peninsula interalia with US Secretary of State Tillerson, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.